From: "Maria Bodmann" <mariabodmann-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: PUPT: Almost Being John Malkovich
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 12:39:51 PST


Hi everyone, Happy Holidays,

A really interesting article came out in the L.A. Guild's last newsletter.  
I thought some of you might like to read it, so I'm including it (with 
permission) w/this e-mail.  Best wishes, Maria

-------
Almost Being John Malkovich
by Greg Paul Williams

“Puppet Life,” Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry
Dec 1999/January 2000

    When I read Alan Cook's review of the film, "Being John Malkovich," in 
the Orange County newsletter, it brought back memories of last summer when 
my partner and I were the puppeteers on the film.
    I was already having a wonderful experience on the set of the brief  
series "Super Adventure Team" for MTV when an open call for a marionette 
operator came. At the time I was dickering with signing with an agent who 
represented many local film and TV puppeteers. She urged me to go. My 
partner and I decided to take the Dwiggins-patterned male marionette that we 
had carved a few years back. We figured that hand-carved wooden, human 
marionette was what the producers were looking for. And the Dwiggins model, 
with the appropriate weight plugs embedded into the body, seemed a sure 
thing. And it was. At the audition where many of the puppeteers were the 
usual audition-mavens, many of whom had not a clue about string puppets, we 
won the job.
    I read the script and loved it. I then learned the back story to our 
hiring. Phillip Huber had been approached originally. The producers 
apparently found Phillip's price too high and moved on. That was worrisome 
because I know how excellent Phillip is and had no doubt that his bid was 
reasonable for the work to be done in the short time allowed. The meetings 
with the producers and the directors then followed. I actually had to take 
time from my work on” Super Adventure Team” to go with my agent to the 
production offices of "Being John Malkovich." My partner, Steve Sherman, 
went as well. We learned that Tony Urbano was also being considered for the 
job which was fine with me. Tony and I wanted to work together on the film.  
However, Tony had walked away from the construction end of the job because 
the producers had unreasonable expectations on how cheap they could make the 
puppets and still have them move beautifully. Spike Jonze, the films' 
director, was a little too cocky for me at the meetings. My partner wanted 
to rip the Frisbee out of his hand that he continually tossed into the air 
during our entire meeting. (According to Phillip, Spike wasn't even on the 
set during most of Phillip's final work in the film.)
    We made our bid with the condition that Tony Urbano teach actor John 
Cusack how to operate marionettes. That is a story in itself. In all 
writings on this film, Tony's name is never mentioned. But tutor John Cusack 
he did.
    Our bid was accepted and our Puppet Studio was ready to start work. Of 
course, time was running out as the shoot was only weeks away. The
producers continually stressed how excellent these look-alike marionettes 
needed to be. Great marionettes cannot be built quickly.   Right before we 
were to start construction, the producers came back and asked us to cut our 
price. For us, cutting the price after winning the bid for the job was 
unacceptable so the Puppet Studio regrettably bowed out of the film. The 
producers then scrambled. They had already seen Rene, Bob
Baker (who they foolishly, after seeing his theater show, said his puppets 
were for small children only - another clue to their lack of experience in 
puppetry.)
    In their desperation, the producers contacted the late  Mike Oznowicz 
who recommended Kamela Portuges and Lee Armstrong in Northern California. 
After every professional puppeteer in Southern California, it seemed, had 
passed on the project for insufficient funds, these two had the lowest bid. 
Since their experience is mainly in hand and rod puppet, they brought the 
very talented Luman Coad into the project.
    When I heard that the main day of shooting for Luman happened during the 
hottest summer day in LA on a sweltering, downtown street while his beloved 
wife Arlyn lay ill in a local hotel, my heart went out to him.Hollywood can  
be a tough place.
    Our initial feelings about the creative team (the producers and 
director) were that they had the wrong approach to the puppetry. This was
vindicated when the material they shot with Luman had to be scuttled from 
the film. It was then the producers went back to Phillip Huber, paid his 
price (although now considerably reduced as Phillip had to work with the 
Images in Motion marionettes.) The result is what is on the screen today. I 
have no regrets not doing this film, although I passionately love to work. 
Phillip has done a remarkable job and saved the film’s connection to our 
very real world of puppeteers. Ultimately, the film is not the 
quintessential puppet film for me: the puppet master did not get the 
opportunity to make his  own puppets. That would have made the piece a 
stellar vehicle.
    In any case, it is good to see marionettes on the big screen. That the 
actor/puppeteer was portrayed as a poor sad sack perpetuates a
hackneyed cliche that we all must continually fight.
                                          Finis


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